Electrostatic precipitator



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Dec. 17, 1968 R. A. L IDUMS 3,416,540

ELECTROSTATIC PREGIPITATOR Filed Sept. 24, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @www @ma V f/ifys.

United States Patent O 3,416,540 ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR Rudolf A. Lidums, 3129 Palmer Square, Chicago, Ill. 60647 Filed Sept. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 489,861 6 Claims. (Cl. 131-262) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dry cell battery composed of a multitude of electrolytic cells printed on a sheet of paper and electrically connected together to form a battery by circuitry also printed on the paper. The battery, in one of its uses, is Connected to yan electrostatic precipitator apparatus, also printed on the paper, and is thus adaptable for use as a battery-powered electrostatic filter for Icigarettes or the like.

This invention relates to improvements in batteries and electrostatic precipitators and the method of making the same, :as well as the novel application thereof to the removal of particulate matter from tobacco smoke.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly compact, yet powerful self-contained electrostatic precipitator. It is an object related to the foregoing to provide a novel method of manufacturing the same.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrostatic yfilter for removal of particulate matter from tobacco smoke, and particularly cigarette smoke. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel battery cell construction, and method of forming the same.

The foregoing, as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention, will appear Ifrom the forthcoming detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a cigarette having a lter disposed at the unlighted end thereof, which filter is constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates both sides of a strip having circuit and battery elements imprinted thereon, in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged cross section through the coiled portion of the precipitator of FIG. l taken along lines 3 3 and illustrating the mode of construction thereof;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged partial section of FIG. 1 taken along line 4 4 thereof showing the battery construction in detail;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the precipitator circuit as proposed; and

FIG. 6 is a series of cells, enlarged to illustrate the formation thereof in detail.

While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments have been shown in the drawings `and will be described below in considerable detail.

With reference to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, the present invention is illustrated with respect to its application in the removal of particulate matter from tobacco smoke. Accordingly, a lighted cigarette C is shown, having a filter element 10 disposed at the nonlighted end thereof. In accordance with the present invention, the filter element 10 includes a self-contained electrostatic precipitator 11 of a diameter no greater than the normal cellulose or charcoal filters in wide use today. The Ifilter element 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes both front and rear protectors or barriers P on either side of the precipitator which have t-he dual purpose of protect- Patented Dec. 17, 1968 "ice ing the battery elements and circuitry from moisture and chemicals from the smokers lips, and the protection of the smokers lips from the chemical `action which takes place in the battery itself.

It shall fbe understood at the outset that while FIG. l illustrates the use of the present invention with a cigarette, it might well be adapted in the tobacco field, to a pipe, cigarette holder, cigar holder, to name only :a few. Other uses, unrelated to tobacco, will also occur to those skilled in the art. It will be further understood that the lter of the present invention ma)r be used in conjunction with, as well as instead of, more conventional charcoal and cellulose filters which are effective in trapping the larger particles contained in smoke. The precipitator hereinafter described, however, is capable of removing the microscopic particles which the more conventional forms are unable to trap.

In accomplishing the invention, it is proposed to form the compact precipitator by employing known techniques of printing circuits on thin fibrous material such as paper or other .known dielectric substances. Printing techniques are preferred here because they permit depositing of suitable quantities of material in sufiiciently thin layers to retain flexibility of the strip upon which the printing is done. The precipitator which I lhave constructed, does not differ in principle of operation from known, much larger precipitators, but because of its versatility with respect to size fand capacity, and by virtue of the method of manufacture which is herein disclosed, it is believed to be unique.

In known precipitators, there is required a source of power to which is connected an ionizer for the purpose of placing a charge, either positive or negative, on an otherwise electrically neutral particle passing through the field created in the ionizer. A collector is also provided, also connected to the battery, which is often of lower potential than the ionizer, and accordingly attracts the ionized particles, which are attracted towards the poles thereof, thus effectively removing them from the stream flowing through the space in which the ionizer and collector are located.

With reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 5, the battery is indicated generally at B, and purely for the purposes of locating the various elements just mentioned, the ionizer field is marked with a capital I between the poles thereof, and the collector lield which, in the present case, comprises three different collectors or traps, are shown with a C between the poles thereof.

In the present instance, the type of power source presents a difficult problem for the reason that it must operate under the most stringent requirements of sanitation, due to its particular use exemplified here in close contact with human beings. Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a source of power which does not involve the use of an acid material and which, of course, does not develop or generate 'a gas which might be noxious to the user.

There are at least two known types of battery cells which meet these requirements. First, and the more familiar of the two, is the Leclanche cell or the familiar dry cell. In this particular cell, the positive electrode or anode is constructed of zinc and the negative electrode or cathode is constructed of manganese dioxide. The electrolyte used in this particular cell may be one of two known chloride salts: ammonium chloride (NH4C1) or zinc chloride (ZnClB).

The second cell, the Meidinger-Daniel cell employs a zinc anode, but u es a copper cathode with an electrolyte of zinc sulphate (ZnSO4). It will be appreciated that where the precipitator hereindisclosed is to be used for some industrial purpose remote from direct contact with the human body, the more stringent requirements set forth herein would not apply, and any suitable source of direct power remote from the precipitator per se would suffice.

With reference to FIG. 2, it is contemplated that a plurality of battery cells may be formed by imprinting or embossing the electrodes thereof directly on both sides of a thin strip of porous paper 12. To this end, and taking the Leclanche cell as exemplary, it is proposed to first emboss a series of aligned, serially spaced metallic spots or buttons on one side of the paper, preferably along an edge thereof. For purposes of reference, the strip 12, both sides of which are shown in FIG. 2, are marked 12a and 12b to distinguish one side from the other. It makes no difference in which order the spots or buttons are embossed on the paper, and therefore `a series of zinc spots, defining the anode of each cell of the battery, may be embossed first, and they are indicated at 20. The anode buttons are disposed in a line, although they would not necessarily have to be that way, and are spaced from each other a sufficient amount to permit the imprinting of a cathode spot between each anode. Accordingly, a series of manganese dioxide spots, 22, are next imprinted, between each anode, and spaced a short distance therefrom. Again, the spots are, for convenience and economy of space, printed in a single line.

The side 12b, which is a view of the same strip of paper 12 looking at the back of 12a, is printed or ernbossed to provide the remainder of the circuit elements defining the battery. In order to prevent short circuiting of the cells through the porous paper, insulating rings 24 (refer to FIG. 6) are formed about the previously printed buttons and 22. This is accomplished, in accordance with the invention, by depositing a shellac, paraffin wax or liquid plastic material, or any other dielectric material which will serve the purpose, in a ring about the button. This insulating material will be absorbed through the paper, thereby forming a dielectric barrier through the paper in a ring about the buttons, thus effectively electrically isolating them.

Once appropriate insulation has been provided, a suitable electrolyte 26 in gel or paste form is deposited behind the buttons 20 and 22, by printing the same on the back side of the paper 12b within the area of the rings 24. The electrolyte permeates the paper within the area. The electrolyte, which in the exemplary case may be ammonium chloride or zinc chloride, is thus absorbed into the paper within the confines of the insulating ring previously formed, which also inhibits absorption beyond the rings.

Each individual cell is completed by embossing or otherwise depositing a spot of metal on the side 12b over the electrolyte within the insulating ring. The metal deposited will be directly opposite in face to face relation with the button first formed on the side 12a of the paper, so that when the last button is imprinted, there will be, as seen in FIG. 6, as anode and cathode separated by a suitable electrolyte. Accordingly, a series of small galvanic cells are formed on a thin strip of paper, and may be connected in series or parallel to form a battery.

In order that the battery of the invention may be used as part of an electrostatic precipitator, a precipitator circuit may be formed on the same paper 12. The precipitator circuit is formed on both sides of the paper 12 and comprises a plurality of thin conductive strips defining paths, which comprise poles of the ionizer and collector elements of the precipitator as will hereinafter appear. The ionizer and collector strips may comprise a conductive ink, or some other form of conductive material capable of being imprinted on paper, and may, therefore, be printed in toto in a single operation.

Still referring to FIG. 2 and to side 12a, an ionizer' pole is printed in a long, narrow strip 28a, and is con- 4 nected by a lead 29 directly to a cathode button 22 at the left end of the strip as seen in that FIGURE 2.

In a like manner, a series of collector poles comprising elongated thin conductive strips 30a are provided, and in keeping with the relative positon of the elements as seen in FIG. 5, the strips 30a are imprinted between the Collector strip 28a, which appears at the other edge of the strip from the battery cells, and the battery cells themselves. Further in keeping with the invention, in order to provide a difference in potential between the collector electrodes and the ionizer, the collector strips 30a are connected to the power source, in this case the battery, by a lead 32, which runs to a cathode button 22 disposed in the middle of the elements printed on side 12a. As will be apparent in the final formation of the precipitator, this connection will result in the potential across the collectors being exactly half that of the ionizer.

On the side 12b, the ionizer strip 28b and collector strips 30b are all connected to the rightmost anode, as seen in FIG. 2, by means of a lead 42. The voltage across the poles of the collectors will be directly proportional to the number of cells to which the collectors are connected. In the present instance, the tap 32 is positioned midway between the series of cells, and will, therefore, have half the potential of the ionizer. It will be appreciated that the same result is attainable in printing the buttons, by extending the buttons in the direction of an associated electrode to which they are to be connected by depositing sufficient material overlapping the button area in that direction.

At the same time as the ionizer and collector poles are printed, connections between the electrodes may also be printed to thereby interconnect the cells of the battery as shown vat 40a and 40b in FIGURES 2 and 6. Referring to side 12a, a series connection to deliver optimum potential is effected by printing connections between adjacent pairs of anodes and cathodes on each side of the strip, as seen in FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 6, it will be seen that each cell is thus connected in series with an adjacent cell, and the cells at either end have an unconnected anode and cathode respectively constituting the leads of the battery.

In the embodiment just described, the paper material used is porous, thus making insulating rings 24 desirable. When the precipitator is rolled into the helix, as seen in FIG. 3, a thin porous membrane 45 which may be corrugated paper, loosely woven cloth or any other suitable substance, is laid upon the paper prior to rolling so that in the completed helix, the porous membrane will act as a separator between the spiral windings. The membrane is preferably thinner than the printed paper material so that the potential between the poles of the various circuit elements will be greater through the space created by the membrane, than through the porous paper upon which the membrane is printed.

With the separator in place the strip is wound in any known manner into the helical coil of FIG. 3. Because of the small size of the buttons and their thinness, which lends flexibility, the strip may be tightly wound, and is, therefore, very compact. It will be understood that a series of strips with separators between them might `be used in sandwich form where such an arrangement would be suitable.

With reference to FIG. 5, visualization of the resulting circuit evolved from the connections above described will be simplified. The diagram illustrates the relationship of the ionizer and collector strips or paths of adjacent helical coils or windings at any given point as they are arranged with the separator 45 between them. When the strip is helically wound, a side 12m will always face a side 12b across the separator and the fields I and C as shown, will be created. The arrow S indicates direction of smoke flow. It will be appreciated that while the fields I and C are established once the strip is wound,

no current flows until smoke passes between the poles. There is no battery decay, therefore, until use.

The present invention includes still another method of manufacture which would produce essentially the same result. Again referring to FIG. 6, the strip upon which the unit of the first embodiment of the present invention is imprinted, may be a non-porous moisture resistant dielectric material which, by Virtue of its thinness, remains sufficiently flexible to be rolled into the helical form of FIG. 3. Instead, however, of taking advantage of the porosity of the paper to absorb the electrolyte, and therefore necessitate the use of insulating rings, the material, in accordance with the invention, is punched, providing a series of small holes. The electrode buttons are then formed in the same manner previously indicated on either side of the hole, with an electrolyte material filling the hole. The dielectric material of the strip will confine the electrolyte, and the completed cells will be as insulated as those previously described. The remainder of the precipitator construction would be the same as previously described.

Having now described my battery and precipitator construction, its application in the tobacco field lwill be readily apparent. As indicated with respect to FIG. 1, the precipitator element, in tightly coiled form as shown in FIG. 3, might be inserted after the regular conventional filter, or may be used alone with a suitable barrier provided on either side. The precipitator is capable of being coiled sufficiently tight as to have a diameter no greater than that of a cigarette, and is therefore easily made an inconspicuous part thereof. It might also be used separately in a pipe or in a cigar or cigarette holder.

I claim as my invention:

1. A compact electrostatic precipitator formed on a thin flexible strip of paper material, said strip having a plurality of electrodes in the form of thin metallic spots imprinted on both sides thereof in opposed face to face relation, adjacent spots on each side and opposed spots on opposed sides being of dissimilar metallic composition, a plurality of electrically conductive paths imprinted in aligned opposition on each side of said paper, an electrolyte in the area between opposed electrodes [reactive with the dissimilar metallic compositions to create an electrical potential across said electrodes, said electrodes being interconnected to define a battery, and said paths being connected across said battery, said strip being rolled into a helix, a separator disposed between the windings of said helix, said conductor paths on one side of said separator adapted, in association with a conductive path on the other side of said separator, to generate a field across said separator, one of said fields being effective to place an electrostatic charge on particulate matter passing therethrough, and another of said fields being effective to attract said so charged particles for removing them from the ow therethrough, the latter yfield being of lower electrical potential than the former.

2. A method of making a compact electrostatic precipitator on a thin strip of paper, comprising the steps of printing a plurality of metallic anodes in spaced relation on one side of said paper, printing metallic cathodes adjacent to and between said anodes, placing electrolyte in said strip beneath said anodes and cathodes, imprinting a plurality of anodes and cathodes on the other side of said strip in opposed face to face relation with said anodes and cathodes on said one side so that an anode and cathode will be disposed opposite one another on either side of said strip with electrolyte therebetween, imprinting a plurality of narrow conductive paths in aligned position on both sides of said strip, connecting said paths to said anodes and cathodes, and imprinting a conductive path between adjacent pairs of anodes and cathodes on each side of said strip to thereby interconnect the cells defined by opposed anodes and cathodes.

3. The method as described in claim 2 having the additional step of placing a separator over said strip, and rolling said strip and separator into a helix.

4. The method as described in claim 2 wherein said thi-n strip comprises porous paper material, an insulating ring is formed between said face to face anodes and cathodes prior to the addition of said electrolyte and to imprinting said anodes and cathodes on the other side of said strip, and said electrolyte is added to said paper -within said insulating ring.

5. The method as described in claim 2 wherein said thin strip comprises a non-porous dielectric material, said strip having a plurality of holes punched therein, and said anodes and cathodes being imprinted over said holes with the electrolyte disposed therebetween.

6. A filter for use with a cigarette or the like including a compact electrostatic precipitator formed on a thin flexible strip of paper material, said strip having a plurality of electrodes in the form of thin metallic spots imprinted on both sides thereof in opposed face to face relation, adjacent spots on each side and opposed spots on opposed sides being of dissimilar metallic composition, a plurality of electrically conductive paths imprinted in aligned opposition on each side of said paper, an electrolyte in the area between said opposed electrodes reactive with the dissimilar metallic compositions to create an electrical potential across said electrodes, said electrodes being interconnected to define a battery and said paths being connected across said battery, said strip being rolled into a helix, a separator disposed between the windings of said helix, said conductor paths on one side of said separator adapted, in association with a conductive path on the other side of said separator, to generate a field across said separator, one of said fields being effective to place an electrostatic charge on particulate matter passing therethrough, and another of said fields being effective to attract said so charged particles for removing them from the flow therethrough, the latter field being of lower electrical potential than the former, said strip, with said separator, being secured to the unlighted end of the cigarette.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,381,455 8/1945 Jacob 55-102 2,701,272 2/1955 Reiner 136-111 2,762,858 9/1956 Wood. 3,028,864 4/1962 Minto 131-262 X 3,239,380 3/1966 Berchiello 136-83 X SAMUEL KOREN,'Primary Examiner.

D. J. DONOHUE, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 131--l0.5, 10.7; 55-139, 142, 146, 150, 154; 136-111, 

